


For Something Greater

by faequeentitania



Series: Reylo Week 2018 [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Love, Pregnancy, Reylo Week, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 20:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14480391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faequeentitania/pseuds/faequeentitania
Summary: She. The little sunburst of life growing inside Rey’s body.





	For Something Greater

**Author's Note:**

> Final day of [Reylo Week 2018!](https://reylo-week-2018.tumblr.com) Final prompt: destiny. I think I gave myself a cavity from the pure fluff of this fic but NO REGRETS.

Snoke had spoken frequently about his destiny. The grandeur of it, the inevitability of his rise in power, guided by the Dark side and the ancestry of Lord Vader.

He had believed it, once. He had been so lonely, so angry, had felt so helpless and out of control of his life that the idea that he was made for something bigger, was made to walk a grand path with just the help of Snoke’s guiding hand; it had made his fall into Darkness so laughably easy.

Snoke had been right, in a way. Darkness rises, and Light to meet it. If he had never fallen so far from grace, he didn’t know if he ever would have met her.

He liked to think the Force would have found another way to bring them together; perhaps he would have been with his father when his old man tracked down the _Falcon_ , would have been the one to help her out of the maintenance hatch, would have been the one to coax her into staying with them, instead of trying to return to Jakku.

Or perhaps they would have met on Jakku itself, scrapping for parts or for work. Perhaps they would have glimpsed each other at Nima Outpost. He might have flirted with her, maybe bartered for the parts she had salvaged, offering a decent meal and his company in exchange for a circuit board.

Or maybe they wouldn’t have. Perhaps the Force would not have been that kind, perhaps he would have become Luke’s most devout apprentice, committing himself to the monkish life of a Jedi. Or perhaps Luke wouldn’t have stayed his hand. Perhaps Ben’s life would have ended that night, extinguished by his master.

Perhaps a fatal misstep inside the hull of a decrepit Star Destroyer would have tore her from the universe.

 _That_ thought, of a galaxy without Rey, chilled him the most. Of a galaxy without her warmth, her smile, her kindness, her temper, her ferocity. A galaxy without her light was one that he never wanted to know.

“Hey,” she murmured softly, tucked in the cradle of his arms in the middle of the afternoon, her back against his chest and the sunlight from the window leaving a yellow square on the floor.

“Hm?” he hummed distractedly into her hair, shifting his arm a little under her cheek while the other stroked her side.

“I thought we were taking a nap, why are you thinking so much?”

He gave a little chortle, but kissed the back of her head apologetically.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Want me to turn it off?”

“No,” she sighed. “I don’t like it when I can’t feel you.”

There were occasional downsides to having a Force bond as strong as theirs, and the effort of keeping mental barriers up between them was one of them. They usually couldn’t be bothered to exert the energy or the concentration, and even when they did they couldn’t maintain it for more than a day, maximum. They never really wanted to anyway, so it wasn’t much of a problem most of the time.

Until his swirling thoughts kept her from napping, apparently.

“It would just be for an hour or so, so you can nap. You’ll still be able to feel me right here in bed with you.”

“Yeah, but she won’t.”

She. The little sunburst of life growing inside Rey’s body.

Ben soothingly spanned his hand over her abdomen, where their baby was dozing herself in the comfort of Rey’s womb.

Six months in, and Rey was only just starting to show. The doctor assured them the baby was growing just fine, it was only Rey’s athletic, lithe build that made it less pronounced.

“Don’t get her going again,” Rey warned him lowly. “She’s only just settled down.”

Ben couldn’t help but grin into her hair, his thumb stroking softly at the swell of her belly.

“She can’t help being feisty, she takes after you,” he teased, and Rey reached back to give him a light pinch on the thigh.

“You’re not much better, hotshot.”

He chortled, and Rey angled her head back a bit toward him with a sigh. “You’re lucky I love you so much.”

“I’m lucky you love me at all.”

Rey put her hand over his on her abdomen, and Ben’s heart fluttered at the pouring of love that she flooded across their bond. It was a love that was always there, a constant, beating pulse they shared, but he was always taken off guard when he would feel it like this. Concentrated, focused, all encompassing in a way that never ceased to humble him.

He remembered the surge of it when they realized she was pregnant; both of them feeling the tiny, glowing new presence in the Force. He had physically gone to his knees to press his lips to her belly, to reach out with the Force to the spark of life inside her.

She had combed her fingers through his hair, their bond so full of love for each other and for their unborn child he had been breathless.

It left him breathless now, and he lifted his head to press a kiss to her lips.

_I don’t deserve this._

She brought her hand up to his hair and gave a sharp tug.

“None of that,” she growled against his lips. “If you didn’t deserve me you wouldn’t have me. Simple as that."

To Rey, it really was that black and white. If he was not worthy of her love he wouldn’t have been given it, nor would he continue to receive it. He envied her conviction.

“Try,” she encouraged him. He nodded that he would, pressing another kiss to her lips.

“Why don’t we meditate?” Rey suggested. “Help all three of us wind down.”

Ben nodded, settling back down on the pillow, and Rey turned her head to kiss his arm under her cheek.

Then they breathed slowly together, letting their bodies relax completely, letting the swirl of the Force inside them unwind.

Their bond, which already left any barriers between them paper thin, flooded open even more.

Ben took a moment to bask in her light, warm and calming, and a little smile came to his lips at the feeling of their baby girl instinctively curling into the feeling of her parent’s life force.

She was already so strong, her thriving presence in the Force promising power to rival her parents.

That worried him, sometimes, how powerful she already was, but as Rey was quick to remind him, there were few people in the galaxy more equipped to navigate the challenges of having a Force sensitive child than them.

 _What if they’re targeted, like I was?_ he asked anxiously, barely days after they first felt the little flame of her life spring into existence.

Snoke might have been gone, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be others.

 _Then you’ll be the first to recognize it,_ she reassured him. _And we’ll teach them how to be strong against it._

Rey had taught him how, after all.

Ben sighed, letting his mind go peacefully blank, just feeling the warm hum of the Force inside them, connecting the three of them so intimately he couldn't pick out where any of them ended and the others began.

He wondered how long that would last, once their daughter was born into the world, her life force independent from her mother’s. They would always be connected, he knew, just as he was always connected to his own mother; but as all children did, she would grow up and come into her own. He was eager to watch her do it.

 _I love you._ He gave the thought to both of them, weaving the feeling of his love into the energy flowing through them.

Rey was right, as she usually was, the meditation in the Force helping to calm his wandering mind.

 _This_ was his destiny; not power, not control, not Darkness. Just this; the love of his life and a family of his own. Hard won, but worth every struggle.

**Author's Note:**

> I am still pleasantly surprised I managed to do this and not fall behind! If you've been along for all of the fics this week, THANK YOU. Make sure to to check out the #reyloweek2018 tag on tumblr for all the amazing art and fics that have beautifully sprung from this week.
> 
> And a final shout out to [anerdslife4me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anerdslife4me) for her help, beta-ing, and wonderful cheerleading this whole week!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to come say hi on [tumblr](https://faequeentitania.tumblr.com).


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